Dr. Arpaia received a B.S. in Biochemistry from the State University of New York, Geneseo in 2006 and a Ph.D. in Molecular and Cell Biology (Immunology and Pathogenesis) from the University of California, Berkeley in 2011. His graduate work with Dr. Gregory M. Barton examined interactions between Salmonella typhimurium and the innate immune system and demonstrated that Toll-like receptor–sensing of S. typhimurium promotes pathogen virulence and immune evasion. As a Postdoctoral Research Fellow in the laboratory of Dr. Alexander Y. Rudensky at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, Dr. Arpaia investigated how tissue-resident leukocytes sense changes in their local environment and identified environmental signals that drive the differentiation and specialization of regulatory T (Treg) cell subsets. He began his independent laboratory as an Assistant Professor of Microbiology & Immunology at Columbia University Irving Medical Center in 2016 and was promoted to Associate Professor (with tenure) in 2024. His research focuses on understanding the molecular mechanisms that drive pro- vs. anti-inflammatory immune responses in mucosal barrier tissues and the tumor microenvironment. Dr. Arpaia serves as the Director of the Microbiology & Immunology Graduate Program and Associate Director of the Integrated Doctoral Program in Cellular, Molecular, and Biomedical Sciences. He was named a Searle Scholar in 2017 and received the Harold and Golden Lamport Award for Excellence in Basic Science Research in 2021.